WEC 50 Salaries and Fighter Bonuses
WEC 50 last night on Versus once again delivered. It was an awesome night of fights which was action packed from start to finish like we have come to expect from the WEC. Scott Jorgensen led the payroll last night with his $25,000 with only one other fighter breaking the $20k mark, that being main event winner Dominick Cruz. Here is the full list of fighter salaries courtesy of Sherdog.com:
Dominick Cruz $22,000 ($11,000) defeated Joseph Benavidez $17,500
Anthony Pettis $12,000 ($6,000 show/win) defeated Shane Roller $16,000
Chad Mendes $11,000 ($5,500 show/win) defeated Cub Swanson $11,000
Scott Jorgensen $25,000 ($12,500 show/win) defeated Brad Pickett $7,000
Brad Palaszewski $16,000 ($8,000 show/win) defeated Zach Mickelwright $3,000
Maciej Jewtuszko $6,000 ($3,000 show/win) defeated Anthony Njokuani $7,000
Javier Vasquez $16,000 ($8,000 show/win) defeated Mackens Semerzier $4,000
Ricardo Lamas $14,000 ($7,000 show/win) defeated Dave Jansen $4,000
Fredson Paixao $6,000 ($3,000 show/win) defeated Bryan Caraway $4,000
Danny Castillo $19,000 ($9,500 show/win) defeated Dustin Poirier $3,000
As is traditional with Zuffa events the fighters also got some bonuses, I would hate to be the guy who had to chose but Fight of the Night went to Scott Jorgensen and Brad Pickett who each received an extra $10,000. Also bolstering their paychecks were Maciej Jewtzusko and Anthony Pettis who took home the extra $10k for Knockout of the Night and Submission of the Night respectively.
*These salaries do not include “locker room bonuses,” sponsorship income or any other incentives the WEC fighters may have been offered. They are simply the numbers provided to the NSAC by WEC in accordance with state publishing requirements. It should also be noted that fighters also have to pay taxes like the rest of us and in some cases give up a significant amount to their gym/coaches/teammates etc.
Jamie Varner vs Kamal Shalorus – A Controversial Draw
Jamie Varner took on Kamal Shalorus last night at WEC 49 in Edmonton, Alberta. The fight ended in a draw due to a point deduction in the second round for Shalorus after a second groin kick. Despite the point deduction Shalorus once again connected with a groin kick but no point was deducted. The image above is from Fight Metrics to see their full analysis of the fight click here.
Many believed that Varner with the point deduction did enough to win the fight, including Varner himself:
“I’m pretty sure I broke my right foot, broke my right hand, but I’m not going to lie: I think that was bogus. I definitely feel I won the fight. But you know what? Kamal Shalorus is now the toughest guy you have heard of. I have much respect for this guy.”
The quote from the post fight interview summed up how many felt including myself. I felt Varner won the first two rounds but Shalorus edged the final round with the take-down.
Give me your thoughts on the fight. Did Varner win it? Did the judges get the decision right?
Check Out Urijah Faber’s Leg After WEC 48 Loss
Garcia vs. Jung – One of the best fights of all time!
WEC held it’s first ever PPV last night, the show turned out to be very well put together with some good action packed fights we have come to expect from the lighter guys in the WEC. To help increase buys two prelims were shown on Spike TV prior to the PPV broadcast one of which, Leonard Garcia vs. Chan Sung Jung, ended up being one of the greatest fights I have ever seen.
The entire fight was filled with back-and-forth non-stop action from both fighters. In the opening round both were wildly throwing punches for well over a minute when Sung Jung caught Garcia and sent him down. Garcia hung on though. What was most surprising about the fight was that even in the third round they were not fully gassed out, sure they may not have been at first round pace but both were still giving it their all.
At the conclusion of the fight the fighters hugged it out before Bruce Buffer read the judges decision. I must say I had it 29-28 to Sung Jung but in such a closely contested fight you can barely complain. The official scores were 29-28, 28-29 and 29-28 in favor of Garcia.
WEC 48 – Live Results and Play-by-Play
WEC 48 QUICK RESULTS:
145 lbs.: Jose Aldo defeats Urijah Faber via unanimous decision (49-45, 49-45, 50-45)
155 lbs.: Benson Henderson defeats Donald Cerrone via guillotine choke at 1:57 of round 1
145 lbs.: Manny Gamburyan defeats Mike Brown via KO at 2:22 of round 1
155 lbs.: Shane Roller defeats Anthony Njokuani via submission (rear naked choke) at 3:07 of round 1
135 lbs.: Scott Jorgensen defeats Antonio Banuelos via unanimous decision (29-28 all three judges)
145 lbs.: Leonard Garcia defeats Chan Sung Jung via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
155 lbs.: Anthony Pettis defeats Alex Karalexis via submission (triangle choke) in R2
135 lbs.: Brad Pickett defeats Demetrious Johnson via unanimous decision
145 lbs.:Chad Mendes defeated Anthony Morrison via submission (guillotine choke) @ 2:13 of R1.
135 lbs.: Takeya Mizugaki defeats Rani Yahya via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28 and 29-28)
145 lbs.: Tyler Toner defeats Brandon Visher via TKO (Strikes) @ 2:36 of R1
WEC 48 Live Play-by-play
WEC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo vs. Urijah Faber
Round one: In the opening minute both fighters are just feeling each other out. Not much is happening apart from some range finding strikes. 3:00 left and the Faber chants start by the crowd at the ARCO Arena. 2:40 and Faber goes after Aldo but comes away with nothing. Faber keeps switching stances and throwing wild strikes in these opening minutes in order to catch Aldo off guard with something. 1:30 left and Aldo connects with a nice knee. Under a minute left and Urijah really begins to open up. :30 left and Aldo lands a big knee to the body knocking Faber back and onto the canvas. He quickly stands back up though and gets back to the striking. A very close round which I would give to Aldo 10-9 because he had some of the cleaner more effective shots.
Round two: Faber starts off rushing at Aldo but doesn’t land any strikes. Aldo got a body kick in and then followed up with a series of punches. 3:30 and Aldo almost connects with a big uppercut, if it had connected properly it could have been the end of the bout. Aldo looked like he was going to go in for the flying knee but never managed it. Aldo is really working the leg kicks now and they are looking as though they are giving Urijah a hard time. :30 and Urijah is now limping with the left leg. It has took such a beating in this second round. Easily 10-9 to Aldo.
Round three: A minute in and Aldo gets another few leg kicks and it is looking as though Urijah can take no more punishment. These leg kicks are taking their toll on Faber now and he is limping while Aldo takes no risks in breaking him down further. Urijah went for the takedown with 2:15 left but Aldo escaped. The kicks are continuing and with :10 left Aldo knocks Faber down with one. 10-9 Aldo.
Round four: 3:40 and Aldo gets mount on Faber and then back mount looking for the rear naked choke. Faber gets out though and gets the fight back to standing. Another leg kick puts Faber down and Aldo goes in for the kill but Faber survives. The crowd begins to chant fo Faber with1:45 remaining. Aldo gets a mounted crucifix and begins unloading some left elbows and punches. The punches were not effective though and Urijah managed to hang in until the end of the round. 10 -8 Aldo
Round five: Faber goes in for a takedown but does not manage to get it. Faber is stood back up. The round plays out like all of those previous. 10-9 to Aldo
Final result: Jose Aldo defeats Urijah Faber via unanimous decision (49-45, 49-45, 50-45)
WEC Lightweight Champion Benson Henderson vs. Donald Cerrone
Round one: Henderson got off to the better start in this fight getting control of Cerrone’s back while standing and then eventually getting the takedown. Out of nowhere came a guillotine choke and it was over, Ben Henderson got the victory by submission.
Final result: Benson Henderson defeats Donald Cerrone via guillotine choke at 1:57 of round 1
Mike Brown vs. Manny Gamburyan (145-pound limit)
Round one: Opening minute and neither fighter has come out on top. Both have landed a few strikes so far. Manny lands an overhand right with two minutes remaining. and then a few seconds later Gamburyan caught Brown with a right hook that knocked him clean out. After seeing the replay you can see that Brown leant into the punch.
Final result: Manny Gamburyan defeats Mike Brown via KO at 2:22 of round 1
Final result: Shane Roller defeats Anthony Njokuani via submission (rear naked choke) at 3:07 of round 1
Antonio Banuelos vs. Scott Jorgensen
Round one: The opening two minutes of the round were relatively even on the feet. Jorgensen was controlling the center of the cage while Banuelos pases around the outside looking for an opening. That opening came at about 2:30 when a left connected sending Joegensen to the mat. Jorgenson was able to recover and the fight was back to standing with 1:40 remaining. 30 seconds remaining and Banuelos landed a nice spinning back kick to the mid-section. Banuelos tried some more kicks towards the very end which were blocked by Jorgensen. I score the round 10-9 to Banuelos based upon the knockdown.
Round two: Jorgensen came out looking for the win much more in this second round landing some good shots. Banuelos continues to look for the left while Jorgensen keeps working the jab. Jorgensen begins to land some more nice shots on Banuelos. Banuelos’ nose is really busted up and begins to bleed pretty bad towards the later portion of the second. Second round 10-9 to Jorgensen.
Round three: Jorgensen lands some big shots in the opening minutes of the round but Banuelos manages to recover. The blood continues to come out of Banuelos’ nose which is clearly broken. Jorgensen continues to pressure Banuelos and lands a solid right with three minutes remaining in the round. The crowd starts to boo with half of the round gone and shortly after Jorgensen drops Banuelos with a right gaining rear mount. 1:45 remaining and Jorgensen gets the RNC locked in but Banuelos finds a way out. Jorgensen gets back to rear mount and works on opening up Banuelos for another choke which he locks on with 15 seconds remaining but was never able to finish. 10-9 Jorgensen in my book.
Final result: Scott Jorgensen defeats Antonio Banuelos via unanimous decision (29-28 all three judges)
Dana White: WEC 48 Video Blog Part 1
Miguel Torres Plastic Surgery Video
MMA Mania had the privilege of being able to film Miguel Torres getting his gruesome cut from WEC 47 fixed up.
WARNING: Contains blood, skull, scalpels and a gangsta!
Miguel Torres Surgery from Harris Masood on Vimeo.
Driven: The Jens Pulver Documentary by Gregory Bayne
Jens Pulver is one of the names associated with the beginning of MMA. He was the first lightweight champion of the UFC and has been giving his all for the advancement of the sport for over a decade now. Since his loss on Saturday night many have been paying tribute to one of the legends of the sport.
While reading all the different tributes to Jens around the net I came across a publicly funded project to make a documentary on Pulver. Gregory Bayne raised just over $27,000 dollars in 20 days to bring the story of “Lil Evil” alive. The movie is scheduled to be release in 2011 and I wish Bayne the best of luck in his project. Check out these links for more info:
http://twitter.com/drivenfilm
http://www.youtube.com/user/gregorybayne
WEC 47 Salaries: Benavidez Top Earner With $29K
The Ohio Athletic Commission today released the salaries of the fighters which took part in Saturday nights WEC 47. The total payroll was $264,000 with Joseph Benavidez taking home $29,000 as the events highest earner. Here are the salaries (provided by MMA Fighting):
Televised Card:
Dominick Cruz ($9,000+$9,000=$18,000) def. Brian Bowles ($12,000)
Joseph Benavidez ($14,500+$14,500=$29,000) def. Miguel Torres ($26,000)
Javier Vazquez ($6,000+$6,000=$12,000) def. Jens Pulver ($14,000)
LC Davis ($9,000+$9,000=$18,000) def. Deividas Taurosevicius ($9,000)
Bart Palaszewski ($6,000+$6,000=$12,000) def. Karen Darabedyan ($4,000)Preliminary Card:
Scott Jorgensen ($8,000+$8,000=$16,000) def. Chad George ($3,000)
Chad Mendes ($4,000+$4,000=$8,000) def. Erik Koch ($3,000)
Anthony Pettis ($3,000+$3,000=$6,000) def. Danny Castillo ($9,500)
Leonard Garcia ($14,000) fought George Roop ($3,000) to a split draw
Fredson Paixao ($2,000+$2,000=$4,000) def. Courtney Buck ($3,000)
Ricardo Lamas ($5,000+$5,000=$10,000) def. Bendy Casimir ($3,000)
These salaries do not include any bonuses, locker room additions, sponsorship money, taxes, training fees or management fees so actual fighter payout could vary greatly from what is seen on this page.
WEC 47 Bowles vs Cruz Weigh-in Results
Image courtesy of MMAJunkie. Check out the entire WEC 47 gallery here!
WEC 47 will take place tomorrow night live from Columbus, Ohio. The fighters taking part in the event weighed in earlier tonight an below are the official numbers. The event will air live on Versus tomorrow night at 10PM EST.
Main Televised Card
-Brian Bowles (134.5) vs. Dominick Cruz (134)
-Joseph Benavidez (135) vs. Miguel Torres (134.5)
-Jens Pulver (145.5) vs. Javier Vazquez (145)
-L.C. Davis (144.5) vs. Deividas Taurosevicius (145)
-Karen Darabedyan (156) vs. Bart Palaszewski (155)
Preliminary Card
-Chad George (135.5) vs. Scott Jorgensen (135)
-Erik Koch (144) vs. Chad Mendes (145)
-Danny Castillo (155.5) vs. Anthony Pettis (154.5)
-Leonard Garcia (145) vs. George Roop (145.5)
-Courtney Buck (145) vs. Fredson Paixao (144.5)
-Bendy Casimir (155.5) vs. Ricardo Lamas (155)